Re: oil filters

[jallred@rtimeinc.com (John Allred)]

>> Just came back from the dealership to buy a part.  At the parts counter,
>> the guy in charge had three oil filters dismantled and on display, when I
>> asked him why, he showed me... he had a Fram filter, a Canadian Tire
>> filter (aka Walmart), and then an Autobahn filter.  The Autobahn had
>> *twice* the filter paper, the pressure valve, and weighed twice as much.
>> It also cost 3 times the price of the others, but $18 is a small price to
>> pay.
>
>Heh, about a month ago I was bored one weekend (weekend job at NAPA is the ONLY
>reason the '84 is still on the road) and took a hacksaw to three filter &
>discovered the same thing.  Kinda cool.  'Cept the filters I used were Fram
>(complete garbage) AC Delco (not bad actually) and NAPA (made by Wix, very nice
>inside.)  I found the same thing - Fram sux.  The Wix used only marginally
>thicker & better quality paper than the Delco, and the valves on each looked
>equivalent.  Sounds about like the AutoBahn product.  For $3.50 versus $18,
>well...

This brings up a good question.  The local dealer here in Seattle (Barrier)
wants $17 for an oil filter for my 1990 Coupe Q.  I placed a call to Linda
at Carlson Audi, and her price was $5.70 for the filter.  Both filters are
"genuine Audi".

The only difference I could discern between the two oil filters is the
"turbo" label on the $17 filter.  That always struct me as odd, since my
Coupe isn't turbocharged.  Could it be that Barrier was foisting a more
expensive filter on me, all for the greater glory of their profits?

Inquiring minds want to know.

John

----
John Allred (jallred@rtimeinc.com)
RTime Inc, Seattle, WA